The Supreme Court of India has criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for focusing solely on its own fundamental rights while pursuing a money laundering case related to the Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam in Chhattisgarh. The court questioned the agency's attempt to transfer the case to New Delhi, noting that the agency's petition under Article 32 of the Constitution is typically reserved for individuals seeking redressal for fundamental rights violations.
Covering 37 different legislations such as the Partnership Act of 1932, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and laws on environmental protection, consumer protection and labour interests, the recommendations have been shared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The co-operative banking sector is well regulated, and a few cases of restrictions being imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should not paint a negative picture of the entire sector, said Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) secretary Ajay Seth on Monday. "Co-operative banks in the country are generally quite robust, and the RBI takes regulatory action whenever issues arise.
The agency seized documents like answer sheets, OMR codes, hand-written notes related to IDs and names of candidates apart from their education certificates, the sources said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday searched locations in Karnataka, including educational institutions linked to state Home Minister G Parameshwara, as part of a probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actor Ranya Rao and others. The ED sources said an educational trust is suspected to have "diverted" funds and made a payment of Rs 40 lakh towards the credit card bill of Rao, allegedly on the instructions of an influential individual. The sources claimed the trust is linked to Parameshwara and the "influential" individual is a politically exposed person. The searches found there were no supporting vouchers or documentation to "substantiate" this payment (for credit card bill payment), they said.
The Indian government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to ban online games played with money, aiming to curb addiction, money laundering, and financial fraud. The bill also targets advertisements and financial transactions related to such games.
The Enforcement Directorate said on Monday that it had conducted search operations at four locations in Mumbai and Delhi as part of its money laundering investigation into an alleged Rs 4,500 crore (Rs 45 billion) fraud by Pancard Clubs Limited and others, in which more than 5 million investors have been duped.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday continued its searches at places linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara as part of the probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actress Ranya Rao and others, official sources said.
Following detailed questioning, journalist Mahesh Langa was arrested by the Crime Branch on Tuesday morning, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajit Rajian said. "The central GST had found some suspicious transactions in bogus firms floated in the name of Mahesh Langa's wife and father using forged documents. Langa has been arrested for further investigation," he said.
Arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari has opposed the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea in a Delhi court seeking to declare him a "fugitive " in connection with a black money case. Bhandari claims his stay in the UK is legal as the London High Court denied his extradition to India. The court's decision was also cited by an English court in April to deny the Indian government's request to extradite another accused in a rice-buying scam. Bhandari's lawyer argued that the ED's application was "vague, misplaced and without jurisdiction " and that the value involved in the case was less than the required Rs 100 crore to declare someone a "fugitive. " The Delhi court has sought the ED's rebuttal to Bhandari's argument by May 3.
The Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT), which runs Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital, has accused its former trustees and related individuals of misappropriating over Rs 1,500 crore. The trust has filed complaints with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Bandra Police Station, alleging that the misappropriation, uncovered during a forensic audit, has impacted the trust's operations and healthcare services. The trust has also claimed that black magic was performed in the hospital premises by former trustees and related individuals. The Bandra Magistrate Court has ordered an inquiry against these individuals. The current trustees have identified large-scale irregularities in the hospital management body's affairs and appointed forensic auditors who found that over Rs 1,500 crore has been siphoned and misappropriated by the former trustees. The Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has initiated a probe into an alleged cheating case of Rs 85 crore registered against three former trustees of the hospital.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) faced criticism from the Supreme Court for filing a "half-baked" reply in a bail matter related to the Chhattisgarh liquor scam. The court expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, questioning the accountability of the ED and its advocate-on-record. The ED's additional solicitor general, S.V. Raju, attributed the error to a miscommunication and assured the court that a departmental inquiry would be initiated.
'I don't know when I will be able to access those funds.'
Vaibhav Pandya has been charged with cheating and forgery.
The EOW had registered a case against Pednekar and two senior officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) under various Indian Penal Code sections including 420 (cheating) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), based on a complaint filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.
The Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit, which is probing the alleged National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG) paper leak case, on Saturday claimed to have obtained reference question papers of the test conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) and planned to compare these with documents recovered from a flat in Patna during a search operation last month.
China and Pakistan are in a tight strategic alliance. India must deal with them one at a time, but be prepared in case they decide to collude, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Officials say that such a list, to be updated on a real-time basis, will serve as a ready reckoner in identifying those committing multiple economic offences
Delhi-based electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing firm Evera Cabs, which grabbed headlines after acquiring 500 cars from the now-defunct cab service BluSmart, is stepping up its presence in the EV cab segment. The company is aiming for revenue of Rs 100 crore in the ongoing financial year (2025-26), up from Rs 18 crore in 2024-25.
Referring to the arguments advanced by Chidambaram's counsel on Tuesday that ED wanted to humiliate him by arresting him, Mehta had said, "A victim card is sought to be played. They are saying humiliation. It is not. It is prevention, prevention and prevention with capital P. I am serious about this".
A 27 year-old man had complained to the police that Suraj Revanna, the eldest son of Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna, sexually abused him at his farmhouse in Ghannikada on June 16.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya and editors of some Kannada news portals have been booked for allegedly spreading fake news linking a farmer's suicide to land disputes with Waqf Board, police said on Friday.
Former president of Atlas Cycles Salil Kapoor allegedly died by suicide at his home in Lutyens' Delhi on Tuesday. In a purported suicide note recovered from the spot, he mentioned "financial burden" on him and harassment by four people, the police said, adding said they were investigating the matter from all possible angles.
A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately, a senior Ministry of Education (MoE) official said.
Absconding diamond jeweller Mehul Choksi has been detained in Belgium following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies for his alleged involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore PNB bank loan 'fraud' case, official sources said Monday. The action against the diamantaire was taken on Saturday.
Vaibhav, 37, was arrested on April 8 on the charges of criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, forgery and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly cheating the cricketer brothers to the tune of more than Rs 4 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet in the Associated Journals Limited-Young Indian-National Herald money-laundering case, seeking confiscation of assets worth Rs 661 crore and appending statements of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The agency has accused the Gandhis of orchestrating a conspiracy to illegally obtain the underlying assets of AJL by the beneficial owners of YI (Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi). Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have denied any wrongdoing and said the takeover of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) by Young Indian (YI) was not for commercial purposes. The Congress has slammed the chargesheet, alleging that the ED action against its leaders shows panic and moral bankruptcy of the "despotic" government, while the BJP has continued to call out the role of the Gandhi family in the matter.
The size of the scam is about Rs 15,000 crore, as per the first information report (FIR) registered by the police in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has earmarked assets worth about Rs 15,000 crore that will be restored to victims of real estate, Ponzi and other frauds across India during the current financial year. The agency has been "aggressively" initiating this provision for restitution since last year to ensure rightful claimants duped by financial crime get their dues. The ED has already restored Rs 31,951 crore worth of assets under this provision, including Rs 15,201.65 crore from 2019-21 in cases related to Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL). The ED Director has issued directions to all regions to actively work on cases marked for restitution of assets worth Rs 15,000 crore during the financial year 2025-26.
The IAS officer was later taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is expected to be produced before a magistrate seeking his remand, the sources said.
Investigation to be over by weekend, Mumbai police EOW to lodge FIR thereafter.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday searched premises of Baramati Agro, a company owned by MLA Rohit Pawar, grand nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, and linked entities as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam, official sources said.
'What signal would we be sending -- that we don't stand by our friends?'
Users should be aware of "fake emails" sent in the garb of a government e-notice, said the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in a public advertisement.
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in Nandyala, Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning in a case of alleged corruption, the Andhra Pradesh Police said.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that courts should not hesitate to deny liberty to accused individuals in order to ensure a corruption-free society. The court's statement came while upholding the dismissal of an anticipatory bail plea in a corruption case against a public official. The court highlighted the dangers of corruption and emphasized that the presumption of innocence alone cannot be the sole consideration for granting bail in such cases.
He is expected to be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court on Saturday where the ED will seek his remand for custodial interrogation.
Offenders will be tried under Prevention of Money Laundering Act
Senior Indian Police Service officer Manoj Kumar Verma was appointed the new Kolkata Police commissioner, replacing Vineet Goyal, on Tuesday, a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with agitating junior doctors and agreed to their demands in a bid to resolve the more than a month-long impasse over the RG Kar hospital incident.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two persons including a key accused in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leak case who allegedly stole the paper from a National Testing Agency's trunk in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, officials said Tuesday.
